The Guardian of Magic
by Dr.Bartholomew.J.Tucker
Summary: Stella Black, Guardian, Queen's Wrath, Warlock... Witch? Join Stella as she is sent back in time to the dawn of the 21st century to take part of the Second Wizarding War. ((Honestly, not to sure how to summarize this one.)) Stella x Bellatrix, Redeemed!Bellatrix, Weasley/Dumbles Bashing. Rated M for obvious reasons. Harry x ?
1. Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey

_**Hello, everyone. Now, I know most of you are expecting an update for The Force of Change, but I am currently experiencing a little bit of writer's block in that department. I know what I want to do, but I am having trouble just... well, getting there. However, I am working on it. The update will be coming soon. This is just starting a rewrite for the Warlock's Destiny. I have decided to put this out so I can make an announcement. As many of you know by now, I am in the military. As such, there are duties and obligations I must fulfill. The greatest of those would have to be deployment. I am going to receive my first duty station soon, and I may or may not be getting sent to a combat zone. If that happens, I will not be able to update or type up stories. This gap can last anywhere from six months to two years. I should be receiving word of my first station within the next two or three weeks, so be prepared. And without further ado, let's get into the story.**_

 _ **EDIT: Had to make corrections to the date, and a bit of information provided. I had originally planned to have this take place during the fifth year, but decided against it. As such, there were still a few mentions of some fifth year cirumstances. I think I got all of them, but if you see anymore, let me know.**_

Date: Month-Unknown Year-2073

Infinite Forest

Simulation: Vault of Glass

 _Guardian, can you hear me? Eyes up Guardian..._

Deep in the Infinite Forest, a lone Guardian lay in a pile of rubble, having just destroyed a simulation of Atheon, Time's Conflux. The resultant explosion of the massive Vex Minotaur's core had blasted her through a pillar and into a stone wall. Her Ghost had been working nonstop in an attempt to revive her. She was alive, he knew that, but she wouldn't wake up. It had been five hours since the seven year veteran had been knocked unconscious, and the Ghost was growing worried. Atheon's deceased body was terrifying enough, but at this point, he was noticing small sparks beginning to pop off of its/his head. The gender specifics of the Vex had been a matter of debate between several Warlock factions for several hundred years now, and they were no closer to coming to a head than before. Not that it mattered... A vex of this magnitude was only one thing to a Guardian. A long and painful death. He jumped slightly as his Guardian stirred, groaning in pain.

 _Guardian! Oh, thank the Traveller, you're okay!_

The Guardian sat up with a groan, tearing off her Philomath Helmet and shaking out her short mane of messy black hair. Florescent green eyes stared out at the damage her battle with Atheon had wrought, and she sighed, "Alright... Let's _not_ do that again." She stood up stiffly, placing a hand on her ribs as pain flared up in her left side. "Ghost, why haven't you healed my ribs yet?"

 _I'm sorry, Guardian, but the Dark Zone has not been lifted yet._

The Awoken Guardian looked sharply at her AI companion, her greyish skin paling slightly at the rapid movement, "Agh... What do you mean 'has not been lifted?' We killed Atheon, right?"

The Ghost looked back at the sparking body of Atheon nervously, his eye flickering uncertainly. _Well... I don't think Atheon is dead. Its body is still generating energy. Or someth-"_

The duo grimaced and ducked their heads as a terrifying shriek of metal screamed through the simulated Vault of Glass. The Guardian clapped her hands over her ears before the eardrums ruptured and rendered her deaf. Her eyes shot to the now spasming body of Atheon in shock as a thunderous voice boomed out.

[ERROR: DEFEAT VARIABLE NOT DETECTED. REBOOTING. ERROR: INSUFFICIENT POWER. PARTIAL REBOOT ALLOWED. SCANNING... ONE LIFE SOURCE DETECTED. AWOKEN. GUARDIAN. ONE GHOST UNIT DETECTED. SEALING VAULT.]

The Guardian's eyes widened and she slammed her helmet back on, making a break for the exit. She was five foot away when a massive barrier sprang up, blocking her path. She turned towards the fallen Vex Minotaur, who had lifted it's head up slightly and was staring at her with a strange light in its optical sensors.

[QUERY: WHAT IS YOUR NAME, GUARDIAN?]

The Guardian blinked owlishly behind the visor of her helmet, looking at her Ghost incredulously. She cleared her throat nervously, "I am Stella Black, The Queen's Wrath. I was ordered by Queen Mara Sov to assist the Vanguard in dealing with the Infinite Forest."

A broken, halting screech rang out in the Vault, something that Stella eventually recognized as laughter. The realization chilled her to the bone, and she stepped back.

[STATEMENT: YOU ARE NOT LIKE THE OTHER SERVANTS OF THE TRAVELLER. YOU HOLD A DARKNESS, LITTLE WRATH.]

"Er... Thank you? I don't suppose you'll be glad to just let us walk out of here?"

[ANSWER AND CONDITIONAL: I WILL NOT ALLOW THAT, LITTLE WRATH. AT LEAST, NOT IN THE WAY THAT YOU REQUIRE. STATEMENT: YOU HAVE DEFEATED MYSELF AND SEVERAL OTHER HIGH VEX. YOU CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO EXIST IN THIS TIME.]

Stella's eyes widened as the air above Atheon began to ripple and churn, the fabric of space and time bending to the whims of the ancient Vex. "Oh shit..."

[STATEMENT: YOU HAVE EARNED WHAT ORGANICS WOULD LABEL AS RESPECT, SO YOU WILL NOT BE KILLED. I WILL SEND YOU AWAY FROM THIS TIME, AND INTO ANOTHER. THROUGH THIS, YOU WILL CONTINUE TO LIVE. BUT YOU WILL NO LONGER INTERFERE WITH THE VEX COLLECTIVE.]

Stella shielded her eyes as the ripple erupted with brilliant light, and a wave of energy blasted her. The HUD system in her helmet shorted out almost immediately, and she forcefully brought her ghost back into her mind before the same thing could happen to him.

"Ghost! I think Atheon is sending us back in time!"

 _I believe you are correct. I have already sent a message to the Arcadia. Hopefully the relays are still functional and can send the message to the Vanguard or the Temple of Osiris. We're in the Forest though, so..._

"Don't hold my breath?"

 _Yeah..._

Stella scowled, looking up at the strange, gaping hole in the air. No... it was a sphere.

"Am I seeing this right? That's a sphere, not a hole."

Before the Ghost could respond though, Atheon began laughing again.

[AMUSED RESPONSE: SPACE IS THREE DIMENSIONAL, LITTLE WRATH. A THREE DIMENSIONAL HOLE IN THREE DIMENSIONAL SPACE WILL BE A SPHERE. GOOD BYE, LITTLE WRATH. I WILL RETURN YOU TO EARTH AS A MERCY. HOWEVER, IF YOU DARE TO SEEK OUT THE VEX AND DESTROY US, THERE WILL BE NO MERCY.]

The massive sphere detonated, engulfing the entirety of Atheon's Vault of Glass. Stella's last thought was: 'Ikora is going to kill me...'

Date: June 11, 1981  
Highlands of Northern Scotland.  
Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
Great Hall

Dumbledore sighed, picking at his meal reluctantly. He had just finished a meeting with a most unpleasant individual in the form of Madame Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge. The Wizengamot had been wondering where the Potters had been for the last three meetings, and had come to him looking for answers. Answers that he could not provide...

"Albus, you need to eat..."

The aged wizard blinked rapidly, shaking himself from his train of thought at the words of Madame Pomphery. He looked up at the school nurse with a slight smile, his eyes twinkling softly, "Of course, Poppy. I'm just worried... The Potters may have gone into hiding, but the prophecy is rather adamant that Harry will be the target of the dark lord's ire.

The younger woman just shrugged, eating her meal, "What can we do, Albus? We'll just have to make sure that they remain safe."

The staff nodded in agreement, looking towards Dumbledore expectantly. The eccentric wizard smiled, "Yes. I suppose that is true. Although... with the Potters being who they are, that will be difficult."

The staff around him chuckled in agreement, before crying out in surprise as Sybill Trelawney spasmed suddenly, going into a strange trance. A strange, rasping croak poured from her throat, completely different from the airy, ethereal tone she took every day.

 _The Void shall consume the Darkness_

All eyes went to the Divination professor as she continued the prophecy

 _The Chosen of the Time's Conflux, Wrath of the Queen._

 _They shall heal the mind of the Black Queen._

 _Though enemies at the start, their love shall burn bright._

 _They shall defend the Chosen of the Light._

Trelawney gave a shuddering breath, slumping over in her seat. She blinked owlishly behind her glasses, looking at the rest of the staff, "What? Is there something on my face?"

Dumbledore chuckled, shaking his head, "Sybill, remind me to give you a raise."

The teachers and staff let out a nervous sigh of relief. That quickly changed to screams of terror as the Great Hall erupted with a flash of light and a roar, mightier than that of any dragon. Several professors were blown out of their chairs before Dumbledore and Snape managed to erect hasty shields to defend themselves. The noise and light quickly died down, revealing a sight that immediately caused the headmaster to cast a massive notice-me-not charm over the magi.

A strange, armoured figure knelt down in the middle of a large scorch mark. The massive oaken tables that sat the students had been halfway vaporized and flung to the walls. Every window had been shattered and turned to a fine dust. The stone floor had been cracked and seared by an unimaginable heat. After a few seconds, the armoured girl let out a muffled groan and stood up. She inspected the surrounding area before shaking her head and holding out a hand. A sharp, shimmering light came into existence, followed shortly by a small, baseball sized object with shifting spikes and a single, blue "eye."

"Ghost, begin a scan of the surrounding area. We need to figure out how far back Atheon sent us."

She suddenly paused, before spinning around and summoning a rather unusual looking muggle weapon with glowing lights and a long barrel. She aimed it directly at the group of magi, not even pausing to see if there was something there.

"Alright, hands where I can see them!" Her voice was hard and cold, and though her face was hidden behind her helmet's visor, Albus could easily tell that she was looking right at them.

Albus swallowed nervously, eyeing the muggle weapon as he held his hands up. Severus attempted to draw his wand, only to freeze as two bolts of purplish light shrieked past his head and punched through the metal door behind him.

"Move your hand any closer to whatever it is you're going for, and the next set goes between your eyes."

Having been sufficiently cowed, the entirety of the staff did as they were told. The floating device she had released a few seconds ago came back and whispered something urgently. She turned to look at it for a second, before shaking her head and letting her weapon vanish in a flash of light. "Fuck... I assume that you lot own this place. Sorry for destroying your er... dining hall?" She paused for a moment, before driving on. "I'm sorry if this sounds a bit crazy, but could you tell me what year it is? And where I am?

Albus looked at Minerva, who just shook her head in confusion. The elderly man gingerly lowered his hands, "This is Howgwarts, my dear girl. And it is currently June 11th, 1981. Now, who might you be, Miss..."

The girl straightened up slightly, staring them dead in the eye through her helmet's visor, "I am Stella Black, the Queen's Wrath and Warlock Class Guardian. Now, you know my name, but I don't know yours."

Albus blinked owlishly, thinking back to the prophecy that had just been made, "Ah... Well, er... Guardian Black, I am Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin (first class), Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot."

The girl remained silent for a moment, before looking at her floating companion, "Ghost... Are you sure we're still on Earth?"

"Yes, Guardian. There is only a .000001 percent chance of error. The only other option is that we are still within a Vex simulation, but there are no traces of Radilorian Energy in the air. There seems to be a type of unidentifiable energy diffused through the air. I cannot pinpoint it's origin though, and it appears to be doing an excellent job of blocking and scattering any external satellite signals. However, it does seem remarkably similar, though much lighter than Hive magika."

The magi in the room were floored. This obviously muggle girl, looking like something out of a muggle science fiction movie, appeared in a flash of light, destroyed the great hall, and fired a muggle weapon at them, without a lick of visible magic. And now her little floating companion was claiming to be able to detect magic without using any itself (himself)? It was at this moment, that Snape decided enough was enough, and drew his wand while the strange, armoured girl was dealing with the floating eye thing. A jet of red light erupted from his wand, slamming into the girl and sending her sliding down the length of the great hall. Her companion turned to look at the black haired man, before a similar jet slammed into its metal shell, sending it flying with a yelp of pain. The rest of the professors followed suit, conjuring ropes and chains to bind the armoured girl and keep her from moving.

Dumbledore sighed, "Really, Severus. You didn't have to stun her quite so forcefully."

"No, your right." Snape's lips curled up in a sneer of distaste as he drawled. "Let's be gentle with the armoured girl who just held all of us at gunpoint."

Minerva frowned slightly, before nodding, "He's right, Albus. We can't be too careful. A muggle just managed to find her way into our castle."

Albus nodded reluctantly, "Yes, I suppose you're right. Well, let's see what we are dealing with."

The professors quickly ran over to the downed Guardian, wands at the ready. Minerva and Flitwick began casting diagnostic charms over the stunned body of the girl, trying to figure out what sort of potions or charms had been used to get her through the ward lines of Hogwarts. After about thirty seconds, Minerva looked at the headmaster, "Albus, there's nothing there. No charms, no potions. I think there's some sort of magic in her, but it's old... very old magic. Almost as if she's nearly a thousand years old."

Snape sneered and pointed his wand at the Guardian, "Why don't we ask her ourselves? _Envernate._ "

Stella groaned, coming to slowly. What had hit her? She remembered a flash of light, but then just a muddled mess. The greasy haired man, the one with the hooked nose, he had shot some sort of energy attack at her. Why hadn't her ghost revived her? A tapping on her helmet shook her out of her stunned state, and her vision focused on the greasy haired man. She tried to lunge at him, but found that she was unable to, as they had somehow managed to chain her to the wall and stick her there without the use of nails or hooks. She growled at them, "What the hell is this? Let me go you, damned humans! Ghost, where ar-"

Her eyes widened as she saw her companion, tossed off to the side and sparking slightly from unseen damage.

"Ghost! Ghost, get up, little guy!" She glared at Dumbledore, straining against the chains and invisible bonds. "What the hell did you do, old man!? What did you do to my Ghost!?"

Albus looked slightly taken aback by the rather violent reaction from the armoured girl, "Excuse me, Guardian, but it was just one of your little muggle toys. You can get a n-" Albus quickly realized how big of a mistake that was when a massive burst of magic blasted away from the girl. Only it wasn't magic. There wasn't any intent behind it, no form, only emptiness. The chains and magic bonds were completely wiped from existence, and the girl dropped to the floor. The teachers raised their wands to defend the headmaster, but the girl only jumped over them and made a beeline to her companion.

"C'mon, little buddy. Wake up. You can't die on me. Not now. Not with all of this crap going on. I need you..."

The Ghost sparked weakly, the eyelight barely flickering. Stella held the device close to her chest, trying to hold back the tears. The magi behind her looked at each other awkwardly, realizing that there was something very, very wrong. There was a small burst of light as the girl sent the device away to some unknown location. She stood and slowly turned to look at the humans, "Which one of you did it? Who killed my Ghost?"

The humans looked at each other nervously, and several eyes flickered towards the black haired man. The human sneered and stepped forward, "What of it, muggle? You threatened us, so I did my job. In fact, I should ha-"

"What is your name, human?" Stella's hands were coated with a flickering mixture of inverted light and blue lightning.

The man sneered again, raising his wand, "I am Severus Snape. What do you think you, a muggle, can possibly do against me? We just had you bound to a wall and unconscious."

"Severus, I don't think she's a muggle..."

The potion master didn't bother listening to McGonagall, lazily flicking his wand in an attempt to stun the girl again. But to his amazement, she simply swatted the spell aside and began calmly walking towards the wizard, for she had decided to classify him as such. Snape frowned, jabbing his wand forward, and this time producing a nearly invisible spell that only caused her to stiffen for a second, before it dissipated and she continued moving. Snape's frown deepened, and he flicked his wrist twice, once to conjure a ball of silver, and a second time to banish it at her head. She wasn't expecting the move, and he smirked triumphantly as her helmet's visor shattered, and she went down hard.

"Muggle, guardian, it doesn't matter Minerva. She is out of he-"

A loud bang echoed through the room, and Snape was hit in the shoulder. The wizard spun once, twice, before falling to the floor. A pool of blood quickly began to form under him, and several of the professors backed away. Snape sat up, his already pale face an ashen grey colour. The Guardian was on her feet, holding a massive revolver weapon. The barrel was smoking slightly. She began walking up to the human, her fingers tight around the pistol grip. With her helmet dented and visor shattered, everyone could see the inhuman, glowing green eyes glaring down at Severus. She raised the revolver to finish the human off, but suddenly froze. "Ghost!?"

She spun around, sending her weapon away and re-summoning the baseball sized device. Her ghost sparked, shifting weakly as it struggled to lift itself. "Some... sort of... -Zzrrtzz- EMP... A bit scrambled... didn't do anything stupid... right?"

"Uh..." Stella could feel her face darkening with a heavy, embarrassed flush. "Maybe?"

She turned to show her handiwork to the Ghost, and he tutted, "Really, Stella? You missed him? Why?"

"Because he... WAIT, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE MAD ABOUT?" Stella's jaw dropped as she stared at her companion in stunned confusion.

"Oh, I'm absolutely livid that you shot him... But I understand why you did."

Stella shook her head, storing the ghost away safely, "I'm running a check on you as soon as I can." She glared at Snape, before waving her hand dismissively. "Get yourself checked out. It's just a flesh wound, but it can still get infected."

Dumbledore, despite the events that had just transpired, smiled merrily, "Guardian Stella, I apologize if we hurt you, we were simply afraid of what you might be. You appear to be some sort of muggle due to your unusual armour and weapons, but I don't think I have ever seen a Muggle do what you can do. Please, can you tell us how you came to be here?"

The armoured woman remained silent, considering her options. She didn't know too much about time travel, but she did know that she had a rather unique opportunity here. 'What do you think, Ghost?'

 _Go for it. Just by being here, you have changed the timeline. Technically, you shouldn't exist._

Stella took a deep breath, steeling herself to do the one thing she hated most. Talk to other people. "My name is Stella Black... And I am from the future."

 _ **Well, that was fun. Anyways, this story is going to be a bit different. Some things, such as Harry's parent's being murdered, will still remain the same. Treat this little bit, and the next few chapters as a sort of prologue to the main books. For those of you good at deciphering prophecies, you can probably figure out who the titles pertain. Yes, I do actually plan on pairing Stella up with Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black. It might be a bit unusual, but hey... since when do I go mainstream? I actually do have a plan for this one, especially when it comes to meeting Harry and whatnot. Annnnywho... Read and review. And for those of you who want to lend a little support for this little hobby of mine, you can go to my page and donate. I only have one donor at the time, so I can't really implement any of the rewards. The profile name is 'Writing Soldier.' It has a picture of a thin, pale man with a tentacle tie. (Yes, I am a Lovecraft fan.**_

 _ **Current Patron(s):**_

 _ **Lu Bane Na, a.k.a. Loves2Spooge.**_

 _ **Hmm... Not much... Let's see if we can change that. At the moment, my first goal is 25 patrons. The moment, I hit that, each patron will be entered into a drawing to be put into the story as a cameo character. There are other rewards for the various patron tiers, but you can go check it out for yourself!**_

 _ **Again, please review. I love reading what you think about the stories I write. Writers like myself don't just write because we can, we write because we love to see other people enjoy the things we create.**_


	2. Machinations of Fate

_**Hello once again, my faithful readers. I know this isn't a new installation of the Force of Chage, but I think this is a good bit of filler before I really put on the show. Note: The next chapter for FoC is also more or less filler with plot development. Anyways, this post also serves to deliver some news. My projected duty station is in the United States, so I won't be deployed just yet. I won't say where for OPSEC reasons (and in case something happens), but maybe when I actually get there I'll let you lot know where it is. On another, completely unrelated note, my sister took one of those DNA tests, and it turns out I'm 80% Irish... I don't think I inherited any of their luck... Really could use some of that...  
**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Destiny. However, I did work for Bungie as a freelance writer on Warmind and Forsaken so... there's that. Stella is my own creation.**_

The staff of Hogwarts stared at their new guest in awe and stunned confusion. What this "Guardian" was telling them, it just couldn't be true. A time traveller? From the future? It just seemed impossible! Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, trying to shake the foreboding feeling she had, "Excuse me, Guardian, but you still haven't removed your helmet yet. I understand if you felt the need to wear it in that... _warzone_ you lived in, but you're safe here.

"Am I safe, human?" Stella crossed her arms, glaring pointedly at McGongall. "I was just attacked by the entire staff, and that git who hurt my ghost is lucky I didn't kill him with that shot. A little more to the right, and he would have a rather large chunk missing from his head."

Dumbledore coughed quietly, "Please, Guardian, we are sorry for any damage we might have caused to your companion." The old man smiled gently at her, but his mind was racing. A time travelling alien? Nobody could know of this. Not yet. He would have to modify several memories, definitely Filch's... But the biggest problem was what to do with the Gaurdian herself. He thought quickly, going through her story again. "Er... Pardon me for asking, but how long have you been this... 'Guardian?'"

"Seven years." Stella's response was blunt and automatic, generated by nearly a decade of her militaristic lifestyle. She crossed her arms, nodding towards the magi. "I have completed missions on the Moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury, and the Eurasia Continent System."

Minerva raised an eyebrow, "Seven years? You look rather young for someone who's been fighting a war for seven years..."

Stella scoffed and rolled her eyes, waving dismissively, "Let's just chalk it down to being paracasually immortal. As long as my ghost survives, I can't be killed, at least not permanently."

Dumbledore had to stop himself from being skeptical of this proclamation. Immortality? That sounded like very dark magic, but she said it came from her little companion. It would certainly explain her rather violent reaction she had to Severus harming it. He smiled gently, gesturing to the dinner table, "Please, Guardian, relax. I'm sure you must be hungry after your er... long journey. I assume that in those seven years, you've never taken a vacation?"

Stella frowned, hesitantly moving towards the table. Guardians didn't need to eat per se, but they all did so. Stella actually had to learn how to go through a "royal ball" under the tutelage of Mara Sov. She sat down stiffly at the table, noticing that it was set much like one of her majesty's dinner tables, albeit on a much smaller scale and with a sort of medieval fashion. "A vacation? No, I don't even think Guardians in the main Vanguard are allowed a vacation. We struggle to keep Earth and the last of the human race alive."

Every one of the witch and wizard turned to stare at her questioningly, realizing that something was seriously wrong here. A woman in a Victorian era Nurse's uniform spoke up, "What do you mean, the last of the human race? Did... Did something happen to us?"

Stella winced, pain evident in her one visible eye. She remained silent for several long moments, before sighing and carefully removing her helmet. The staff gasped quietly at her appearnance.

The nurse woman swallowed nervously, "You... You look more human than I thought you would with those eyes..."

Stella just shrugged, shaking her head, "My race sort of... descended from the humans... Anyways... A decades from now, if my arrival hasn't already screwed that up, a mechanical, paracasual entity known as the Traveler will arrive in the Sol System, this one. It will bring about a Golden Age the likes that has never been seen on Earth. This Golden Age will last a few centuries before... before _it_ arrives... The Darkness... We called its arrival The Collapse. At the most recent census, The Last City reportedly had around 625,000 citizens... The human race is, or will be, an endangered species. We tried to fight it off, the Traveler gave us the tools we would need to survive before it was killed, or nearly killed as we recently discovered. But we still lost... The Darkness has many allies, and we... we just couldn't win this fight..."

The Great Hall was silent as every ear listened intently. The human race, nearly extinct? That just sounded impossible... But here was this girl in muggle armour, weilding impossible technology and powers, explaining everything in as much detail as she could. Dumbledore swallowed thickly, his throat suddenly dry. He coughed, trying to shake off the strange fear he felt, "I... I'm sorry for your hardships, Miss Black... Truely I am... But it seems that your work is not yet done..."

Stella frowned, glaring at Dumbledore with those deadly green eyes, "What do you mean, human? I don't have to worry about the darkness for another thousand years. Hopefully, by that time, this world will be prepared. Or, better yet, I am now in a timeline that does not have a Darkness. Maybe I can finally hang up the Warlock Band and "take a vacation," as you so kindly put it."

Dumbledore shook his head, smiling gently, "That's not what I meant, Guardian... You have been taken from one war and placed in another... I wish to offer some assistance in return for your own." He sighed, rubbing his weary face with a hand. "You see, we have our own villain that wages war with the magical community. As you may have guessed by now, we are Wizards and Witches."

Stella nodded, gesturing for the man to continue. With her Ghost detecting Magika-like energies, and the stick waving these fools were doing, it was quite obvious what they were.

Dumbledore shifted uncomfortably at her unwavering gaze, "His name is Tom Marvelo Riddle, but he goes by the name of Lord Voldemort. This man is our greatest threat, but all is not lost. A prophecy has been made. I cannot tell you the contents of this prophecy, but it concerns a family in the West Country of England. They are currently in hiding behind a very powerful Concealment Charm, but I feel that they will need more protection. I want you to guard them... Protect them from Lord Voldemort's followers... You would go into hiding with them, living with them and building a new life for yourself in this time period. I will ensure that the proper paperwork is procured for yourself to become a legal citizen of the United Kingdom and the Wizarding Community of the British Isles."

The wizards waited to see how the Guardian would react. To their surprise, she merely held up a finger and closed her eyes, holding a silent conversation in her head. This conversation lasted for several minutes, ending when she finally opened her eyes with a rather annoyed expression, "While I would usually refuse such an offer, my Ghost has made a point to remind me that I tend to... find trouble when I'm alone... Since I'm in an unknown time period, with absolutely no way to return, that would be detrimental to my surival and continued existance. So, we will be accepting your offer. When do we go?"

Dumbledore was surprised when she stood up, placing her helmet back on her head, "Err... Don't you want to rest a bit? You were just hit with a rather overpowered stunner."

She turned to stare at the old man, her eye vanishing as the helmet repaired itself with a shimmering light. "And I shot the man who did it. Count yourself lucky that you aren't looking for his replacement right now. I am ready to leave now, before something else unpleasant happens."

Dumbledore took note of the fact that she didn't specify where the unpleasantness would be directed, and wisely chose to stand and offer his arm, "Please, take my arm, Guardian. We will be travelling via Apparation. Think of it as teleportation."

Stell frowned behind her helmet, reluctantly doing as the man said. Immediately, she regretted it as her world seemed to tear itself appart, compressing and twisting into a tobe that squeezed her into an infintesimal point. She couldn't breath anymore! Before she could order her Ghost to do anything though, the world seemed to explode back into life, and she fell to the ground coughing and hacking. Dumbledore waited for her to recover, firing a silvery spell off with his wand and remaining quiet. When she finally stood back up, he cleared his throat, "My apologies, guardian... Side-Along-Apparation can be... rough for passengers, especially during their first trip, and at this range. Ah... Mr. Pettigrew. Thank you for meeting me here on such short notice."

Stella took a step back as she finally noticed that a small, rather ratty looking man had appeared nearby, and was staring at her with watery, suspicious eyes. "Yes... I would most certainly appreciate the warning next time."

Dumbledore nodded, before leaning down and murmuring something in the small man's ear. Pettigrew nodded quickly, before spouting out, "The residency of the Potter Family is located in Godric's Hollow, on Gryffindor Street, third house on the left."

It was about that time that Stella finally noticed that they had "Apparated" in the middle of a small, quaint village. The "Magika" readings (courtesy of her Ghost) were going absolutely nuts. But that was nothing compared to the massive spike resulting from the appearance of an entire house from thin air. She openly gasped at that, not having seen anything remotely close without the aid of technology. _Ghost... Are you seeing this?_

 _Yes, I am... and I am suitably impressed. I am also making a note of the frequencies broadcasted before and during revealation of the residency. It may be useful in the future._

Stella nodded quietly to herself, realizing that her Ghost was right. She turned to Dumbledore, clearing her throat pointedly, "If I am going to live in this time period, and with Magika users no less, I would very much appreciate it if I could recieve some lessons on the subject as to at least know how to defend myself against it."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, and nodded, "That is perfectly acceptable, Guardian. Due to your rather interesting last name, I think I know just who to ask." He looked to the building before smiling gently. "Actually, I think he's here now."

Stella frowned at the cryptic response, before turning to the house to see two men walking towards them with with their wands drawn. Looks of suspicion were etched upon their faces, as well as a healthy dose of fear. The one on the left, a man with short, messy black hair and hazel blue eyes cleared his throat, "I, Lord James Potter, demand to know your identities. Speak now, or my friend and I will hex you into oblivion."

Stella had to resist the urge to laugh at the threat as Dumbledore began placating the man. To anyone else, it might have seemed a bit threatening, but to a Guardian who had been through hell and back several times, it was downright laughable. She turned her gaze upon the man on the right, a rather wild looking one with shoulder length black hair, steel grey eyes, and a well groomed moustache to bboot, was eyeing her with a rather curious, if familiar expression. Stella betrayed nothing behind her Philomath Helmet, watching him calmly. "Is there something you need, human?"

The man flinched slightly at her cold tone, before smiling broadly, "Wait, you aren't human? That would certainly explain the muggle getup. What, are you some sort of space alien?"

Before Albus could stop her, she smiled cruely and responded, "Actually, I am... and I'm from the future. I assume you must be the one Albus mentioned, since your friend is the Potter."

Dead silence rang out between the group, before Potter and his friend slowly turned to face Dumbledore. Potter shifted awkwardly, before asking, "Er... Professor, who is this girl?

Albus sighed, "Well, James, my boy... It seems you are to have a house guest for the time being. Meet Stella Black, a Guardian from a future timeline. She is to be a sort of... well.. Guardian for your family."

James frowned, looking from his friend to Stella several times, before nodding, "Maybe it's best if you come inside..." 

Fifteen Minutes Later _  
_

"So, let me get this straight... You are a Guardian, which is some sort of super soldier from the future, created to defend humanity? And you were sent back in time after some crazy, homocidal robot decided not to kill you out of some twisted sense of respect and mercy?"

Stella nodded, watching in amusement as James Potter and his friend Sirius Black tried in vain to wrap their minds around the concept of not just time travel, but aliens, interstellar space travel, and Arteficial Intelligence. Scratch that, Sirius seemed more interested in something else.

"Are you sure your name is Stella Black? Or is that just some made up name?"

Stella scowled behind her helmet, and nodded, "Yes, my name is Stella Black. I am one of the few Guardians capable of remembering snippets of our past. My name is who I am, and there is nothing that can change that. Is there a problem with that, Human?"

Sirius shook his head, a small smirk playing on his face, "Would you be so kind as to remove your helmet? I'm sure you don't need it right now. Everything is perfectly safe here."

"Obviously not, otherwise Merlin here wouldn't be asking me to play body guard for a Magika family." Stella ignored Sirius's chuckle of amusement, forging ahead. "Why do you want me to remove my helmet?"

"One, it's rude to wear armour indoors unless you're in a fight. Two, again, you don't need it right now. Three, you-"

"Alright, I get it..." Stella muttered something in the Fallen tongue before reaching up and unsealing her helmet with a sharp hiss of decompressed air.

The two men gasped slightly as they beheld the oddly human, yet entirely alien appearance. Sirius inspected her face, scrutinizing every last detail. "Well, it certainly is nice to see that the Black heritage is alive and kicking er... how far into the future are you?"

"A several hundred years at least... a few thousand at the most. No one is really sure anymore. And I'm not technically alive... at least, not in the traditional sense."

Albus nodded, "Yes, I was curious about that... What do you mean by being unable to die as long as your little muggle... thing... is still active?"

She frowned, closing her eyes for a moment, before nodding. "Looks like there's enough Light in this timeline for my Ghost to have full fucntionallity." She stood up, holding her hand out. Sirius and James both yelled in surprise when she summoned a silenced pistol. They're yells grew louder as she turned the pistol on herself, and pulled the trigger. Her head jerked to the side as a nine millimetre bullet punched clean through to the other side, leaving a dark splatter of blood on the wall. She dropped to the ground with a thud, and both men leapt away in a mixture of terror and disgust.

They were silenced when her Ghost appeared, looking down at her corpse with somewhat of an annoyed air, "Oh, I do wish she would warn me before doing these kinds of things. Settle down, gentlemen, this will only be a moment..."

All three men watched in amazement as the Ghost scanned the body, causing it to vanish in a few seconds, along with the blood. Then, it drifted over to Stella's chair, beaming a blue light down upon it. With a sharp hiss of displaced air, the Guardian reappeared with her legs crossed, and her arms folded. A look of smug amusement was plastered on her face as she saw the pale, ashen faces of the humans in front of her.

Her Ghost sighed, acting as if it were a head shaking in disapproval, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Yep, and it was to get Mr. Black here to shake the notion that I was anything like his living family. I may have some of the same DNA, but I am no longer a member of any family. I am a Guardian, a once living person ressurected by superiour technology in order to defend the remnants of Humanity. Do I make myself clear?"

Sirius swallowed nervously, before nodding, "Crystal..."

Everyone looked to the kitchen entrance as a red haired woman ran inside, still in her nightgown, "James, Sirius, what's going on!? I heard you yelling, and... oh... er... Headmaster... I didn't know you were coming to visit. And um.. who is this?"

Stella's inhuman eyes bored into the stunning green eyes of Lilly Potter nee Evans, searching for something. After a moment, she seemed to find it and nodded to herself. Then she stood up and bowed ever so slightly, "Good evening, Mrs. Potter. I am Guardian Stella Black of the House of Wolves. I am currently stranded here in the past due to an encounter with a time manipulating robot. Merlin here is, with your permission of course, allowing me to seek sanctuary with your family. In return, I am to defend against any possible threat to your family's safety, eliminating them with extreme prejudice."

"Now hang on a minute, I haven't said anything about you staying here," James seemed to find his voice again, trying to retake control of the situation. Stella was having none of it though."

"Be quiet, Mr. Potter, I am letting the woman of the house decide."

Sirius snickered, muttering something about Black family women being strong willed, but didn't interrupt further. Lilly blinked in surprise, before looking at Albus for a moment. When the old man smiled encouragingly, she nodded hesitantly, "It's um.. nice to meet you, Miss Black. If the headmaster approved this already, then I see no reason not to let you stay. It's only until this war is over anyways."

Stella nodded, turning to Albus with a calm stare, "Merlin, I think you can go back to your school now, or is there something else you wish to discuss?"

Dumbledore frowned slightly at the name she had labled him with, but shook his head and stood up, "No, I believe that will be all. I will take my leave now, so you can get er... settled in."

Stella watched as Dumbledore left, remaining silent the entire time. It was only when the distinct crack of him apparating occured that the silence was broken by Sirius laughing, "Oh my god, I don't think I have ever seen anyone treat Dumbledore as casually as you just did! You called him Merlin as a nickname, for crying out loud, and not as a term of respect! That is just rich!"

Lilly just rolled her eyes, turning to face Stella and get a proper look at her, "Hmm... Well, I suppose I should begin by introducing myself, though you already know who I am. You can just call me Lily. I just have one question... Actually, I have a lot of questions, but just one right now. What on Earth were you boys screaming about down here?"

"My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-times a thousand niece here just shot herself and was resurrected by a little Ghost doo-hicky." Sirus coughed out, still grinning ear to ear. "It was one hell of a prank if you ask me."

"Well, I didn't. What do you mean she shot herself? I didn't hear a- oh..."

Lily was silenced as Stella brought her weapon forth again, turning pale as the armoured alien (for Stella had been resurrected with her helmet on again), "Do I need to deliver another demonstration again, or can you understand this?"

Lily swallowed thickly, before nodding and sitting down shakily at the table, "So... I've never seen magic like that. Then again, most wizards wouldn't know what a gun is... Who taught you?"

Stella raised an eyebrow behind her helmet, before shaking her head, "Sirius over there is supposed to be teaching me the basics behind magic. I've never used it in my life. Everything I use, with the exception of my Warlock Class abilities, comes directly from an advanced technology far in the future. Your husband can explain it to you later. For now though, I would like to inspect the building, an see what I'm dealing with in terms of security. Is there anything I need to know about?"

Lily thought about it for a moment, glancing at her husband warily. When he nodded, she sighed, "Harry... He's asleep upstairs. If anything happens... can you make sure he's okay?"

Stella frowned, hearing the concern in the human's voice. Hesitantly, she lifted her hands and removed her helmet again. Lily gasped, her eyes widening as she saw Stella's face. The Guardian waited for her to get her emotions under control, before responding, "Mrs. Potter... A thousand or so years from now, I will be resurrected by my Ghost for the sole purpose of defending the last remnants of Humanity. I promise upon the Light that I serve, I will do everything within my power to ensure your son survives to adulthood."

Lily swallowed nerously, but nodded with a grateful smile, "Th-Thank you, er..."

The Awoken girl smiled, "Stella. My name is Stella."

 _ **And there you have it people. A little bit of drama, a little bit of filler, etc. I'm still not the best at it, so bear with me. The next chapter is going to be much more... interesting. I should be dropping that about the same time I drop the next FoC chapter. I'm also working on the next chapter for a Leap of Faith, but that one is taking a while. Are there any requests out there for story updates? Keep in mind, if it's been a while, then your requested story may need a rewrite.**_

 _ **As always, review, and tell me what you liked/disliked. Oh, and take a look at my page. Username: Writing Soldier.**_


	3. All Hallow's Eve

_**Right, so I know this chapter is a bit shorter than usual at 3500 words, but I wanted to get this one out. The next one will most certainly be longer. This story is probably going to be even longer than what I have planned for The Force of Change, simply because I have several books to cover. I want to at least reach fifth year, for obvious reasons, but maybe even sixth year. As you may have noticed, this is not going to put Dumbledore in the most favorable of lights, and the Weasleys… Well, I'm not sure about them. I might be a bit harsh on them, but our favorite pranksters will always be close to our sides. Ron will have a steep learning curve, as will Ginny, if she could ever get her head out of the clouds. Be sure to check my Patron page. I can't actually write the name er… Well, add an E before the O in Patron, and you've got the general idea. /Writing_Soldier for those who want to donate!**_

"Expelliarmus!" Stella shouted the spell, aiming one of Sirius's spare wands at the training dummy he had set up. She had been training with basic magic for the past month now, and had a decent grasp on the theory and practical points for simple verbal magic. She disliked using it, but knew that it was nescessary. Every time she used a spell, her Ghost would analyze the energy flow put out by the individual energy streams and store it away for later use. She watched as the training dummy crumpled under her overpowered Disarming Charm, another problem she had. For some odd reason, she couldn't control the sheer amount of power that she power channeled through. In fact, the reason she was using a spare wand instead of just using his usual wand, was that wands had a tendency to blow up, vaporize, or catch fire, depending on what was going on. She looked at the dummy, which had been tossed back several metres from the simple disarming charm and frowned. "Damn it, that's still too much power."

Sirius stepped up next to her to observe the results, "Well, at least you didn't cut it in half this time. I don't think I've ever seen an auguimente that could cut through solid granite. And the wand looks like it could go another round too."

Stella rolled her eyes, handing the wand over, "Right... You go ahead and get this mess cleaned up, Black. I'm going to go do my rounds." She ignored her psuedo-cousin's feeble cry of protest, equipping her Philomanth Robes and bringing forth a heavy looking hand cannon. The wizards she had been guarding for the past two months had grown used to the armoured time traveler walking around, heavily armed and wearing body armour from head to toe, but they were definitely skittish around her hand cannons. A small smirk graced her features behind her helmet. The wizards carried weapons of mass destruction in their pockets, and yet they were afraid of a simple firearm. She shook her head, waiting for her Ghost to finish scanning the Fidelius Charm that hid the Potter House from Lord Voldemort. She may not have known much about the highly advanced piece of magic, but what she did know had kept her up at night for weeks. The fact that everything relied on a single man, and one that she had already deemed suspicious, was terrifying. The first week they had arrived at the house, she had put Ghost to work stockpiling munitions, crafting blueprints, and generally preparing for a possible siege. It just irked her to no end that Dumbledore refused to allow her to perform reconnaissance operations to see what this "Dark Lord" was planning. But he just continued to spout nonsense about having his own sources, and staying here was "for the greater good." To quote her longtime friend and fellow Fallen Captain(1), 'If it looks like a Hive Trap, it's probably a decoy for the real trap.' And right now, all of her senses were screaming at her to look behind her. Dumbledore was planning something, and it revolved around the Potter boy...

"Stella, look out!" Stella whipped around, her hand reaching for her hand cannon, Queen of Spades, before realizing it was just little Harry zooming towards her on a toy broomstick. Lily looked as if she was about to have a heart attack as she saw Stella reach for her weapon. The guardian acted as if she didn't notice, smoothly transitioning from drawing her weapon to picking the boy up. Her helmet vanished with a flicker of light, and she gave Harry an admonishing, yet slightly playful stare, "Now, what do you think you are doing, Mr. Potter?"

The toddler giggled happily, clapping his hands, "Stella catch! Stella catch!"

Stella rolled her eyes, carrying the boy over to his fretting mother, "Right... who let him on the broomstick? And how was he getting it to fly? More importantly, who uses a broomstick that small?"

Lilly flushed red with embarrassment, accepting Harry and shifting him to the side, "Oh, right... I'm sorry Stella. I should have warned you that Harry would be playing outside today. I mean, he does it every day, but I-"

"It's fine, Mrs. Potter. There's no use in crying over spilled engrams." She took a moment to let the 20th century woman figure out her expression before continuing, "Mrs. Potter, are you sure about this... "Fidelius Charm?" I mean, I get that it's powerful, but it's a glass fortress. One wrong move, and it'll come tumbling down around you. All Mr. Pettigrew has to do is let slip that he knows where you are, and that will be that... Voldemort will find you."

Lily winced at the name, shuddering involuntarily, "Stella, how many times must I ask you? Just call me Lily. You're living here, after all. James and I trust Peter with our lives. He might seem a bit odd to you, but his heart is in the right place."

Stella frowned, looking off towards the front gate as her Ghost gave her an alert. Someone was in the ward line, "For your sake, and the boy's... I hope you're right, Mrs. P- Lily. I hope you're right. Someone is in the ward right now."

Lily's face brightened, and she turned to head back inside, "Oh, that must be the headmaster. He said he would be here with our Gringotts account manager."

Gringotts, the wizarding bank. All monetary, financial, and much of the wizarding social work went through them. Stella frowned, "Lily, why is the Gringotts goblin here?"

"Oh, the headmaster just wants James and I to write our wills in case something goes wrong." Lily seemed rather nonchalant about the entire situation, waving it off dismissively. "But that won't happen, right Guardian?"

Stella nodded slowly, following the human inside. She replaced her helmet with a small mental flex, blinking the spots fro her eyes caused by the flash. Her blood ran cold at the strange turn Lily's entire emotional frame went through. Sure, she was a rather cheerful, if fiery woman during the day, but there was always a sort of caution. As if she knew her life was in the balance. But as soon as Dumbledore was back, it was more like she was under the trance of some sort of Hive Wizard. _Ghost... Are you thinking what I'm thinking?_

 _Already ahead of you, Guardian. I think the Wizard is up to something as well, so I've been making contingencies. New identities, generating funds, basically creating a fallback plan if things go south, which they tend to do around you._

 _Thank's, Ghost..._ Stella breathed an internal sigh of relief as she went inside, before frowning again. _Hang on... What's that supposed to mean?_

Before her Ghost could answer though, the source of Stella's irritation and concern had walked into the living room from the other entrance. She narrowed her eyes, glad she had her helmet on. She cleared her throat, "Well, I'm surprised to see you here, Merlin. Usually, you send Minerva to speak for you. The "brave" lion acting as the Wizard's messenger." A short, barking laugh redirected her attention to the rather diminutive figure at Dumbledore's side. A goblin... It was a rather ugly looking thing, with semi scaly skin, razor sharp teeth, and a large, hooked nose. "Well, you must be the Gringott's goblin. From what Black told me, you lot never leave you bank of gold. Tell me, how's business going with these... wizards?"

The room went silent as all eyes went to the goblin in question, expressions of utmost horror on their faces at Stella's words. James cleared his throat, a pleading tone in his voice, "Griphook, I'm very sorry for our guest. She's... not fr-"

"Mr. Potter? Do shut up, I was asking Griphook a question."

Griphook the Goblin raised an eyebrow, looking the armoured figure up and down with an appraising eye. His gaze lingered on the massive hand cannon strapped to her hip and the House of Wolves sigil emblazoned on her shoulder. The slit pupils shrunk slightly when he noticed the strange symbol in the background of her wolves head sigil, marking her as part of the Queen's Guard. After a moment, he nodded, "It is going quite well, I must say. However, I do not know your name..."

"Stella," The guardian crossed her arms, letting her helmet vanish now that she had determined that there was not an immediate, physical threat.

Griphook nodded, glee in his eyes as he realized she wasn't human, "Well met, Stella, Emissary of the House of Wolves, and member of the Queen's Guard. I would love to discuss _business_ with you at a later date. But first... I think it would be best if you left the room. There is a different type of business that must be conducted now."

The guardian nodded, taking a long look at Dumbledore before marching out of the room. Drafting a will... it was an alien concept to the guardian, one that she would rather not perform. But with this new... magic in play, the future was uncertain. And then there was Griphook. How did he know about her being in the Queen's Guard?

 _I believe I may be able to answer that one, Guardian._

 _Ghost? What do you know?_ Stella frowned, looking around carefully before summoning her friend. "How did he know about my er... titles?"

"Well, from what research I have done about this time's species, the Goblin races are similar in structure to the Awoken. There's a good chance that he recognized the way your armour's sigil appeared. I mean, it would be very odd if a house sigil consisted of everything you sigil appears to be. And on that note, I think it would be a good idea for you to go by a different name."

Stella frowned, glaring at the device, "What do you mean? Is there something wrong with it?"

"Yes, acutally. The name Black is a very important, if infamous name in this time. I suggest changing at least your surname."

The guardian frowned, stopping in front of a mirror and staring at her armour sigil. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded, "How about Wolfe?"

"Hmm... German... Translates to Wolfe. It would make you a foreigner, but that would most certainly be advantageous in some spots. It also suits you."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

Her Ghost chuckled, vanishing back into her head, _Oh, you know... You have a tendency to slaughter anything that hurts your pack. Light forbid anything happen to Mara or the Guard. Scratch that, I would feel sorry for anything that hurt them. No one would dare incur the ire of the Queen's Wrath._

Stella rolled her eyes, going back to her patrol. All Hallow's Eve was tonight, and she needed to tighten security.

SIX HOURS LATER 2100hrs

Stella sat near the fireplace of the Potter Home, watching as Lily and James took Harry up to bed. She had been thinking hard about Dumbledore's actions earlier, making the Potters sign wills. It was just... odd in her opinion. She knew that civilians of the Last City had wills drafted near their deaths, or when they felt something might happen. But they always did it under their own willpower. Dumbledore was doing something to the Potters, and now it was just a matter of proving it. "Run the memory again. Keep an eye on the Magika signatures of the Potters and Dumbledore."

 _Understood, Guardian. Pardon me for asking, but what exactly are you hoping to achieve with this, Stella?_

The Guardian frowned, staring deep into the flames. She felt the Dawnblade within her stirring at the sight, invoking a small amount of warmth, "The Potters have been good to me, Ghost. If they're being made to do something against their will, I owe it to them to offer some sort of assistance. I may not be as magically inclined as Lily, but with you I can ru analysis on spells and determine their effects. I just w-"

Without warning, alarms began blaring in her helmet, and she shot to her feet. Upstairs, she could here James yelling something about the wards failing. She rushed to the stairs, just in time to meet the man there.

A pale, terrified looking James Potter looked at her, "Guardian, he's here! Voldemort! Lily's upstairs with the baby, but…"

He swallowed nervously, looking sick. Stella just nodded, "I understand, James. I'm probably going to be the only to survive this… So I'll make sure to put the bastard in the ground."

He nodded, "Yes… but if Harry survives this, I need you to protect him. Lily plans on… she already knew this was going to happen, so she's going to put a blood ward on Harry when he reaches them."

The two of them winced as the last of the wards gave out, and turned towards the door. Stella drew her handgun as James did his wand, "Mr. Potter… Thank you for opening your home to myself and my Ghost."

"It was a pleasure, Miss Black."

Stella smirked, "Wolfe, actually. I decided to change it at my Ghost's advice."

James glanced at her armour, his own face twisting into that of both fear and amusement, "Well, Stella Wolfe, know that the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter will always be open to you. Welcome to the family."

Stella nodded, pulling the hammer back and aiming at the door, "Let's see how many we can take out before Ol'Moldy decides to step in." She pulled the trigger, punching a fist sized hole through the door and causing someone to shriek in pain.

"Now, that's not fair."

She shrugged, "You have your stick that doubles as a weapon of mass destruction. I have my Warlock abilities, speaking which-"

"Save it… I don't want er… Moldy to know what you can do," He resisted the urge to chuckle as he threw a sickly looking yellow curse through the hole in the door. "Are you always this flippant during a life and death situation?"

Again she shrugged, this time firing a round through a window on her right. At the same time, she began moving objects into the hallway, setting up a sort of funnel and bottleneck as James began throwing curses and hexes at anything that moved. "Honestly? I don't really recall. I can't die, remember? Not without some very circumstances being in play. I think I've been desensitized to the thought of dying. At least permenantly. I will say that being blown up is a rather unpleasant experience."

James threw another curse down the hall, before looking back at her oddly, "Wait you've been blown up?"

"Eyes on the prize, Potter!" Stella fired a few rounds down the hall, before throwing a Vortex Grenade through the front door. The familiar purple energy bloomed to life, causing that entrance to become unusable for a short amount of time. "ANd yes, I have been blown up on numerous occasions. Most nonmagical weapons are designed to kill in rather violent ways. Or you could be hit by a falling warsat… that's a rather unexpected way to go."

James ducked down as a purple curse flew over his head, "Damnit! They have Dolohov with them! He's an expert duelist!"

Stella frowned, putting her hand cannon away and summoning Sweet Business, "Well, then it's a good thing we aren't dueling!"

She let the barrels spin up for a moment before leaping over her barricade and unleashing bullet hell on the enemy. James could only watch in awe with his ears covered as Stella tore everything apart. He wished that he had gotten more time to look into the Muggle world. This weapon made his wand look like chump change. When Stella finally stopped firing, the barrels were glowing cherry hot, and the last few bullet casings were clinking on the ground. She returned Sweet Business back to her inventory and drew the Queen of Spades. She gave it a long hard look, before scanning the room carefully. Everything was dead silent, "James… I'm not picking anything up on motion detectors… But I also doubt I got all… wait… I have one target. Get down!"

She spun around and tackled James to the ground, barely avoiding a green streak of light that detonated on a door and turned it to splinters.

"Mr. Potter… You and your guest have certainly put up a grand fight. But now it is time to end this charade."

Even Stella had to suppress the urge to shudder at the insidious voice of Lord Voldemort. The two of them stood up and turned to look at the front door. Stella's Vortex Grenade had long since faded, letting the pale, snake faced man have easy access to the house. He stepped over the body of one of his followers, looking down at it with a disgusted expression. James stepped around Stella, a steely glint in his eyes, "You won't win, Voldemort. Someone will put an end to you."

Voldemort managed to force his face to smirk, looking down at the wizard, "Yes, well I invite them to try. Not even Dumbledore is willing to fight me in the open, preferring to stand behind fools like yourself. Pawns… Always dispensable, always predictable." He raised his wand, preparing to kill the duo. "However, you have earned my respect, Lord Potter. Not many people could fight off so many of my Death Eaters. You and your… friend here, have certainly proven yourselves. And while I would normally extend an invitation to my ranks to your armoured guard here, they have killed too many of my number to be forgiven."

"Fuck you." Stella raised a single finger to express her displeasure at even being considered for the 'invitation.' Say hello to Adolf when you see him in hell, you pale, slimy snake b-"

"Avada Kedavra! Avada Kedavra!"

Voldemort stepped back quickly as the two bodies dropped to his feet, dead from the Killing Curse."

5 MINUTES LATER

Stella gasped as she was brought back, sitting up abruptly, "Well… that is certainly an interesting way to die." She looked around to see that there was a considerably greater amount of damage done to the house that what her weapons could do. "By the Queen… What happened here, Ghost?"

"No time to explain, Guardian. Young Harry is upstairs, still alive. You need to secure him, and vacate the premises before Dumbledore or the civilian authorities arrive. I… I will begin transmatting some of the Potter's possessions. Particularly the magical ones."

Stella nodded quickly, leaping to her feet and making her way to the stairs, only to find that they had been nearly disintegrated by whatever had taken place during her brief spell being dead. How in Crota's name was anything alive after this? She used her armour's hover ability to float up to the second floor, pulling out her weapon to do a sweep of the landing. Once she confirmed that there were no more enemies, she finally registered the sounds of Harry bawling his eyes out. She burst into what was left of his room, taking in the scene. Lily was lying on the floor, dead, with Harry tugging at her arm. His head was bleeding profusely from an unknown wound, but he seemed unaffected by it. Probably from adrenaline. A few feet away, she could see a pile of black robes, wisps of smoke coming up from it. The remains of Lord Voldemort. She edged around the robes before crouching next to the boy, "Harry… we need to go."

He resolutely shook his head, crying for his mother. Stella waited for a moment, before picking him up and staring down at the body. Being a guardian, she was used to seeing death, but for some odd reason, this affected her more than any other death she had ever encountered, save her first time. She rocked Harry, quietly shushing him until he had cried himself to sleep. By that time, her Ghost had finished whatever it was he wanted to do, and had drifted into the room. He took one look at his Guardian holding Harry and sighed, "We need to leave, Guardian. Local law enforcement have arrived and are about to enter the premises."

She nodded silently, looking around at the room one last time before grabbing a blanket for Harry, "Transmat a few of his toys… He'll want something familiar."

Her Ghost quickly drifted around the room, collecting a few key items before vanishing back into his Guardian's head, _Alright… Let's go._

Stella turned to the blown out wall, leaping out and landing softly on the ground below. She could hear the sounds of panic and sirens in the front yard behind her. But she did not turn back. She had to leave. Keeping Harry safe was her top priority now.

 _ **Well, I hope you enjoyed the little banter I had between Stella and James there before Ol'Moldy offed them. I was hoping to do something a little special there. If anyone wants to know more about what happened in the few months that Stella spent with the Potters, then let me know. I might put a few flashbacks in future chapters. Now, most of you might notice that this chapter is a sort of double feature with the Force of Change. I had actually finished the most recent chapter for FoC ages ago, but could never find the time to finish this chapter. From now on though, I imagine things will run a bit more smoothly, particularly now that I'm going to be out of TRADOC shortly. There will be a definite pause in my writing for a few weeks while I'm on leave with my family, and when I'm getting settled in to my duty station. Either way, I think I will be writing this story, as well as FoC at the same time. Two chapters will be posted every time I update, one for each story. Maybe a third for another story if I find the inspiration for it.**_

 _ **Annotations:**_

 _ **1.) For those of you who don't know much about Stella's lore, she isn't the usual kind of Guardian. In fact, she serves directly under the Fallen Queen, or rather… she did. Maybe some day, I will write a story that is post-Taken King, but for now I prefer my Queen to be alive and well. Not that she isn't… sort of… And no, I don't mean what that idiot Uldren saw. But I can't say anymore on that. Who knows, I might write Stella's story as a standalone in the future. That sounds fun. But for now, I have stories to write.**_

 _ **I fear that I got off topic there. Concerning the annotation, one of Stella's closest friends in the House of Wolves is someone I mentioned in the first write-up for the Guardian of Remnant, a.k.a Tony the Fallen. Also, Moody is just going to love Stella. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!**_


	4. On The Lam

_**Here's the new chapter. I typed this one up on the way down to Texas. I'll be on leave for the next two weeks, so it's family time for a bit. I'll be typing, yes, but not as much. Updates will become much more regular once I get to my permanent post. Until I get deployed, that is. But let's not talk about that right now. For now, just enjoy the story.**_

Stella had never been to Diagon Alley. In fact, barring her brief stay at Hogwarts, she had never been outside of the Potter House. Luckily, Sirius had been kind enough to tell her exactly how to get to the magical hotspot during one of his attempts at impressing her through one of his many tales of bravado and derring-do. She looked up at the creaking sign for the Leaky Cauldron, frowning distastefully. For being the main entrance to one of the most prominent magical hotspots in Great Britain, it looked rather... run down.

"Are we sure this is the right place, Ghost?"

 _Well... there is a 5% chance of error, but with the concentration of magical energy, and the name matches the one given by Sirius, this has to be the place._

Stella shook her head, shifting her grip on Harry so that she had better access to her weapon. A place like this... it would be crawling with more scum than Cayde's prison. After a moment to get her wits back, she calmly entered through the oaken door. The sight that greeted her was only somewhat of a let down.. The bar was empty, with only one or two patrons sitting up near the bartender. He looked at her in confusion, taking in her rather unusual garments before passing her off as ust some strange foreigner. Stella stiffly made her way to the back of the bar, shutting the door behind her. Once she saw the brick wall, she summoned her Ghost, "Alright, buddy... time to work."

Her Ghost quickly analysed the bricks, carefull creating a map of the magical energies. Once he had done that, Stella began concentrating, carefully channeling her inate magical abilities through her fingers. It took a few tries, as well as several scorched bricks, but she managed to brute force her way through to the other side. The Guardian shook her fingers out, wincing slightly at the frayed nerve endings, "I really don't want to do that again... Now let's find Gringotts."

It took only a few minutes to realize that Stella was completely and utterly lost, "Damn... We need to ask directions. We'll never find Gringotts at this point."

"Gringotts you say?"

Stella snapped her head to the left, seeing a rather threadbare man looking at her curiously. She nodded cautiously, keeping her hand near her weapon. This man felt... off. Not hostile, but not human either. "Yes... who are you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name's Remus. Remus Lupin. If you're looking for Gringotts, it's that tall white building down the street."

Stella looked at the massive building that nearly blended into the dark, gloomy fog that had taken over Diagon Alley, before looking back Remus and nodding, "Thank you, Mr. Lupin..."

He just gave her a wan smile before trudging off into the fog. Stella stared at him for a moment before shaking her head and moving to the bank. She hesitated at the rather foreboding warning up at the top before muttering something in the Fallen tongue and entering. Unlike the gloomy, dark Diagon Alley, Gringotts Bank was well lit and held a sort of... antique air. All eyes went to her as the door bomed shut behind her, and a tense silence hung in there air. She cautiously approached the Teller and cleared her throat, "Is Griphook in?"

The Goblin peered over his desk at her, scrutinizing the strange armour, "The bank is closed for any business other than withdrawels and deposits. Come back in an hour."

Stella narrowed her eyes, the action hidden behind her helmet, "Tell Griphook to get his ass out here before I decide to speak to your manager. The Potter House was nearly obliterated by Voldemort, and I'm carrying the sole survivor in my arms. Tell him that Stella of the House of Wolves is here."

The Goblin's eyes widened at that, and he gasped, "The Queen's Guard! Someone get Griphook, now! And the Account Manager for the Potters... I thought Griphook was makeing up some story. And the Potter's... We need to find the wills, and I assume you need some sort of assistance to relocate. Did you have something in mind?"

Stella nodded curtly, summoning her Ghost, "Tell him."

Her companion bobbed on some unseen current of air, "I already have identities prepared for Stella at least, but I could use some assistance with Harry Potter. Our initial plan was to leave for America once this had blown over, but it seems that must be pushed forward now... Do you have any suggestions?"

The Goblin nodded after a moment, coming down from his Teller's desk as Griphook came up with a second goblin, "We'll have to contact one of our American branches... Probably down in the state of Texas. They're a lot more flexible there... And a representative of MACUSA will want to interview you. We should get you two some new identities. Did you already have something in mind for that?"

Stella nodded curtly, before bowing slightly to Griphook and his companion, "Yes... I am to take the surname of Wolfe. Rather fitting, don't you think, Griphook?"

The goblin frowned at her, a serious expression on his face, "I agree, Miss Wolfe. Before we do any of that, we need to solve the issue of Mister Potter..."

Stella tightened her grip on the boy, her hand twitching towards the gun on her hip, "I will not hand him over, if that's what you are suggesting. I swore I would protect him. I gave my word to the Potters."

The goblin quickly shook his head, raising his hands to try and placate her, "Not at all, Miss Wolfe. While there is going to be a rather unusual precedence to be set by giving guardianship to a nonhuman, I'm sure something can be arranged. The problem is the fact that we need to ensure that he is still Harry Potter. We're already recieving reports from the Wizarding Community that Mister Potter was subject to the Killing Curse. No conventional magic, not even Goblin Magic can shield against such dark energies."

Stella wanted to refute that, having already "survived" the curse, but decided against it. She reluctantly moved her hand away from the Queen of Spades, "Alright... what do you want?"

Griphook checked the clock, frowning more than usual, "Come with me. We'll need to get the Potter boy to a group of our mind and body healers. And then we have things to discuss, Stella Wolfe."

She nodded, following the pair of goblins to a more secluded area of the bank. It was obvious people didn't come here often, at least not human people. Goblin carvings, covered in gold leaf, were scattered here and there, still giving it a rather medieval feel. However, Stella immediately noticed that the Goblins were using electricity, and rather copious amounts if the hum in the air was anything to go by. They made it about ten yards, before an awful thought struck her, and she immediately pulled out her handcannon. "Hands where I can see them!"

Both Goblins spun around at the urgency in her voice, confusion on their faces. The 'account manager' balked and fell back on the ground, recognizing the gun alongside Griphook. The latter glared at her with anger and caution, "What is the meaning of this, Wolfe?"

"The Potters said that you were the account manager, Griphook. And yet they said to find you _and_ the account manager. I don't think the Potters would be unable to recognize their own account manager, so what the hell is going on?"

Griphook frowned, "Yes, I am an account manager for the Potters, but I handle affairs of a different kind. With the Potter accounts being so vast and influential, it would make little sense to dump that workload onto one Goblin. There are fifteen goblins in all who work alongside the Potter family. My job mainly concerns major paperwork or financial transactions. Bloodsteel here deals with identity issues. While yes, you would see me more often than not, Bloodsteel is called in emergency cases. Please, Miss Wolfe put your weapon away. We are not your enemies."

Stella frowned, trying to detect any sort of falsehood in the goblin's words. Fortunately, or unfortunately (she wasn't sure yet), there was none to be found. She shoved her weapon away, ignoring the sighs of relief from both goblins, "Pray to whatever god you believe in that I never find out you are lying to me... Or they'll never find the body."

Bloodsteel swallowed nervously, walking over to a small, out of the way door, "Please, Miss Wolfe, you will need to leave young Mr. Potter here. Our healers will ensure that he is healthy and er... whole."

The Guardian hesitated, thinking carefully, before summoning her Ghost, "Ghost... I need you to keep an eye on Harry. Let me know if something is wrong as soon as it happens."

The small device bobbed in the air, "Trust me, Stella... I'll let you know before it happens if I can."

"Thanks..." She took a deep breath, looking down at Harry and brushing some of his wispy black hair away. "Harry... You need to wake up. The goblins need to see if you're healthy."

The young boy yawned, slowly waking up, "Miss Stella... Mama..."

"Yes, I know... I want Lily to be here too... I have to leave you with these Goblins, Harry. Can you behave for me? I need to talk to Griphook."

Harry pouted, looking up at Stella, "No, don't wanna..."

Stella's Ghost hovered next to her head, looking at the boy, "Please, Harry Potter. This is of the utmost importance."

"Ghost, use little words. I don't think he knows what utmost means." She shook her head and knelt down to let Harry stand, allowing her helmet to vanish with a flickering glitter of light, "Harry, Ghost will watch over you while I'm gone. If anything happens, then I'll be right there. Do you remember what I said about Ghost and myself?"

Harry frowned thoughtfully, his little face scrunching up in concentration as he tried to remember, "You and Ghost, con-nect-ed?"

She resisted the urge to smile at Harry sounding out the words, and nodded seriously, "Yes. If anything happens, I can be there in a snap. Please, just go to the goblins, and everything will be okay."

Harry remained silent for several long seconds, before nodding, "Okay, Miss Stella..."

Stella watched as Harry let himself be led by a small group of goblins into the previous room. She turned towards Griphook, crossing her arms, "Alright, what was so important that I couldn't stay with him?"

Griphook gestured for her to follow him, moving at a considerably faster pace than before, "With the Potter head of house dead, there is a rather rare, but dangerous situation. I won't go into the finer details, as politics isn't my stong suit, but some very darke wizards would love very much to get their hands on the political power that could be weilded by the Most Noble and Ancient House Potter, or whatever it is those wizards call it."

She crossed her arms, walking alongside the creature. Mara had made sure she was trained in rather cut throat methods of politics, so she could understand where he wsa coming from, but not so much as to how the Potters had enough power to cause concern in the Goblin community. More on that late, though, "Again, what does that have to do with me? I'm just trying to get Harry away from Voldemort and Dumbledore."

He opened the door to his office, letting Stella through first before bustling around to the other side and climbing into his perchlike seat, "Well... Before he died, did Lord Potter say anything to you specifically concerning the House of Potter?"

Stella frowned, thinking about the attack, "Well... Nothing comes to mind. There was a moment when he said something about his house always being open to me, only he used that odd title you gave it, Most Ancient and Noble, or whatever..."

Griphook gave a snakelike grin, "Well, then he may have just inadvertently saved his family house. As Scion Potter's sworn protector and magically adopted member of the Potter family, you have the opportunity to become the Defacto Head of House. Actually, you _are_ the new Lady Potter. All you have to do is make it official."

"Wait, what!?" Whatever Stella had been expecting, it wasn't that. "What the hell do you mean I was adopted?"

"Well, adopted is strong word. A better way to say it is that Potter made you his liege. As the defender of the last Potter, you become his legal Guardian. Because of that, you become the defacto head of house by consequence. A mere placeholder, really." Griphook pulled out a thick scroll from one of his many piles littering the desk. "Your main responsibility is still to keep Scion Harry safe until he reaches his majority, but now you have access to the Potter family resources. Your family's resources now, Miss Wolfe"

Stella frowned, taking the scroll from him and opening it. On it was a list of vaults and finances handled by the goblins for the Potters. She had only made it a few lines before blanching and slowly rolling it up, "I uh... erm... By the Light, that is a lot of money... But are there any more... practical resources? I understand that cash is king in this time, but where I'm from... cash is less valuable than a well placed bullet."

The goblin nodded, grinning like a shark at her words, "Good. You aren't as shallow as the wizards and witches I have to deal with. Yes, there are plenty of magical artefacts that you may find useful. I'll have a list drafted up later. Are you going to want these vaults moved over to our United States branch?"

The Guardian nodded, "That would be er... acceptable. I don't have to call myself Lady Potter now, do I? That just sounds nightmarish..."

"Only if you have to attend a wizengamot session, though I suggest you get out of the country before that happens. And how much will you be transferring?"

She thought about it for a moment, dismissing the mentioning of the Wizengamot, "Hmmm... Ten percent of the money should suffice to get us started. I have a few plans of my own to keep us afloat comfortably, and I don't want to break the bank by taking everything out. I will, however, be wanting all of the artefacts transferred to America. Can I trust you to remain as my er... account manager here in Europe?"

Griphook raised an eyebrow, but nodded nonetheless, "Of course, Miss Wolfe. Now, there are a few papers to sign to confirm your identity and to sign Power of Attorney rights to you. As for Scion Potter... I suggest giving him your surname, to avoid any unpleasantness."

Stella sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose and nodding. She could feel a headache coming on, and it wasn't from the small skirmish she just had, "Alright... I'll do that. What else?"

Griphook pulled out another scroll and a quill, siding them over to Stella, "You just have to sign this. It will give power of attorney and officially and magically place you in the Potter family."

She accepted the proffered quill and signed the document, ignoring the slight sting in her hand until she realized that she hdn't used ink for the quill... but it still wrote. She inspected the 'ink' carefully before looking up at the goblin, "Seriously, you actually sign things in your blood here?"

The goblin opened his mouth to respon, but Stella held her hand up, receiving a message from her Ghost, _Stella, ask Griphook what a horocrux is, and then gear up. I'll explain after you're ready._

Stella stood up abruptly, gesturing for Griphook to follow her, "My Ghost contacted me, asking about something called a Horocrux. Tell me what you know."

Griphook had to slightly jog to keep up with the Guardian, a look of disgust and concern on his face, "A horocrux? It's one of the vilest pieces of magic invented. It involves splitting the soul through a heinious crime, such as murder. And then using a ritual to encase a portion of your soul in an object of the caster's choosing. Why would... Voldemort must have been making them. Whatever happened to Scion Harry... he must have a piece of Voldermort's soul accidentally lodged in his body."

Stella was brought to a screeching halt, looking at the Goblin incredulously, "He what? Ghost, can you verify?"

 _Yes. The healers have detected a portion of Voldemort's soul residing in Harry's scar. It's a miracle Harry wasn't killed by the pressure put upon his magical core. I have already analyzed the horocrux and compiled it against data I already have. By my calculations, the portion within him is around a seventh or eighth of a full "soul."_

Stella frowned, putting her helmet on as her Ghost appeared in a fizzle of light.

"Hello again, Griphook. The healers have Harry Potter in a coma state while they prepare to extract the horocrux. However, I feel that we need to find a source of information for ourselves. So, I have compiled a list of potential targets provided by the late Lord Potter, news articles, and the Goblins here. I believe I already ow a potential target that will be attacked within a few hours."

Stella nodded, and looked down at Griphook, "Make sure that no one finds out about Harry, no one human, at least. I will be going out to capture a Death Eater to interogate."

Griphook grinned, giving her a slight bow, "Good hunting, Lady Wolfe. Deliver the wrath of your queen upon our enemies."

She couldn't help but smile at that, "I'm know a few people who would have loved to meet you Goblins... One in particular. Good luck with this... horocrux." The two parted ways hastily, with Stella quickly exiting the bank and summoning her Ghost again, "Alright, which way?"

Her companion projected two images in the air, a man and a woman, "Alice and Frank Longbottom, high ranking aurors and members of Dumbledore's Order of the Pheonix. I ran an algorithm, using available data and some speculation with Voldemort being... well, not dead but something similar, and these two seem to be the most likely to be attacked. They live about thirty clicks outside Ottery St Catchpole. We will have to use the Sparrow to reach them in time."

Stella nodded, moving quickly. She stormed through Diagon Alley, barely noticing the massive celebration that was going on. It was only when she reached the Leaky Cauldron, that she ran into a problem. The entire building was packed to bursting, and she couldn't find a way through. With a growl, she drew the Queen of Spades and fired it into the air. Almost immediately, the noise died down, and all eyes went to her. She practically hissed the order, "Move. Now." As if by magic, the entire crowd parted like the Red Sea. She stalked through them, ignoring the whispers of fear and confusion as they beheld the armoured figure. Once outside, she inspected the area around her before summoning her sparrow and taking off with the shrieking roar of hybrid jet/rocket engines. "Give me a waypoint, Ghost."

She cursed when the waypoint came up at nearly 210 km out. Then she thanked her lucky stars that her Sparrow was customized to have an overdrive engine that would propel her at near sonic speeds. This was going to be the fastest she had ever pushed her Burning Feather, thought it should be up to the task. "Initiate Overdrive."

The shrieking roar turned into a deep bellow as her air intakes closed and the hybrid engines turned into a direct rocket engine fueled via nuclear engine. She yelped as she was nearly thrown off the sparrow by sheer accelration forces. Fortunately, she had just enough strength to hold on for dear life while her internal momentum caught up with the linear missile.

 _An excellent display of strength Guardian, not so much in the intelligence area._

"Shut up, Ghost. I was more concerned with the Longbottoms about to be murdered." Stella scowled, looking at the waypoint. Within minutes, she had made a considerable amount of progress. A the fifteen minute mark, she had to start slowing down, lest she wanted to be thrown off the bike and launched over the Longbottom house. She switched the Overdrive engines off, letting the Sparrow cruise down to a much re managable speed. She balked slightly upon realizing that it wasn't a house she was dealing with, but a freaking manor. "Well... That's a big house."

 _Yes, it is Guardian. Perhaps you should concentrate on the rather large amounts of magic being thrown around. I suggest taking the window, or maybe-_

"The massive, gaping hole where I'm guessing a door once stood?"

 _Yes... Exactly._

Stella rolled her eyes, hopping off the sparrow and drawing the Queen of Spades and marching up to the ruined manor entrance. She cautiously poked her head in, looking around. Determining the coast was clear, she moved to step inside, only to be stopped by her Ghost.

 _Hold on, Stella. I'm detecting some sort of Ward, similar to the one employed by James Potter for detecting intruders. You can't march in without setting it off._

She cursed, stepping away quickly. Now what? She couldn't go in the normal means, and a ward generally encompassed the entire building, from top to bottom. "Ghost, these wards are meant to detect magical and nonmagical creatures. Could you transmat me inside?"

There was a moment of silence, and then he appeared with his customary flash, "That's actually a good idea. Prepare for transmat... and try not to loose your lunch."

"But I didn't have any lun-"

Stella failed to finish the statement, her entire body vanishing in a blur of brilliant light. The Ghost chuckled, drifting a few metres past the ward line. "I love it when I get the last word..."

Stella reappeared, collapsing to her knees and gasping for air. She shot a sour glare to her Ghost, pulling herself up and gesturing with her gun, "Remind me to use a few of your shells for target practice."

Her friend just chuckled in response, looking around at the mess caused by whatever attack had occured, "Well, this place is a dump."

The guardian opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a loud scream of pain. She whirled around, bringing Queen up to bear, "What the hell was that?" When the scream burst out again, she took off running through the manor, ignoring her Ghost calling for her to stop. It was only when she saw a room coming up with the lights on and voices coming out, that she stopped and pressed herself against the wall. She edged closer until she could clearly hear and understand what the humans were saying.

"Hit him with the curse again, Bellatrix." The first voice was low, rough, and sounded drunk. This wasn't premeditated? Maybe the Death Eaters were here or some sort o revenge for Voldemort?

"Rodoulphus, I don't think that's neccessary. If I do it anymore, they won't be able to talk. And besides, they're pure blood and one of the ancient houses. We can't push our luck anymore tha-" This one was definitely female, and had a light, singsong voice with soft, feathery tones.

There was a resounding crack that made Stella wince, and a short cry of pain from the second voice.

"Damn it, Rod, you knocked her out! Now what are we going to do?"

By this point, Stella had heard enough, and decided to make her presence known by stepping through the open door and pointing her weapon at the nearest masked person, "Well, for starters, you can drop the wands and place your hands behind your heads."

The scene that greeted her was like a bad movie from the golden age. Two masked figures, both male, stood over a third figure laying out on the floor. A man and his wife were huddled against the wall, trembling from some unknown trauma. They were magically bound and gagged, looking at Stella in confusion.

"'Bastion... Didn't you place anti-muggle wards and detection wards around the place?"

The man on the left growled, drawing his wand as fast as he could, but not fast enough. Stella adjusted her aim a bit, and pulled the trigger, tearing the air apart with the Queen's report. The man's wand and hand vanished in a shower of blood, along with much of his arm. He screamed in pain, clutching at the injured limb. Almost immediately, his friend reached out to him, digging into his robes and vanishing in a flash of light. Once Stella had blinked the spots out of her vision, she realized the two males had somehow teleported out of the building, "I hate magic... Ghost, go see if you can remove some of the spells keeping the Longbottoms in place. I'll secure the female."

The device whizzed over to the struggling Magi, "Sorry if we're a little late, sir and ma'am. We actually wanted to prevent this attack." He zipped around them, scanning and muttering to himself as he worked to do whatever matricies were placed to restrain them. It wasn't too different from hive magic.

Stella crouched next to the woman, picking up her wand and pocketing it. Then she began to strip search her, pulling away whatever trinket she could find. She didn't know what was a potential weapon or if it could be enchanted to be one. Finally, she reached up and removed the woman's mask. A soft gasp escaped her as she saw the face underneath. The woman was drop dead gorgeous, even with the nasty bruise forming just under her left eye and cheekbone. Pristine, pale skin, curly ravenette hair, and a body most humans and Awoken would die for. What was a woman like this doing on the battlefield? From what she knew of humans, they tended to idolize women like this, and treated them like fragile pieces of glass. Stella on the other hand... She pulled the wand back out and aimed next to the woman, muttering _"Auguimenti."_ A sharp jet of water burst out, soaking the woman with backsplash and almost instantly waking her up. Stella backed up quickly, keeping her weapon trained on the woman, "No sudden movements, witch. I want to see those hands, too."

The woman looked around in confusion, freezing when she registered the Guardian with a rather large and lethal looking hand cannon pointing at her, "W-What? Who are you? Where's Rodolphus? Sebastian?"

"I you mean the two bastards that knocked you out, I shot one of them in the arm, and then they teleported away," Stella glanced over at Ghost, who was having moderate success in releasing the Longbottoms. "Listen to me, and listen carefully... I want to make you an offer."

The woman swallowed nervously, her eyes never leaving the gun, "Wh-Wh would I listen to a muggle like you?"

"Several reasons, actually." Stella put the wand away, ticcing off the reasons on her now empty hand. "One, I am most certainly not a non magical being, seeing as I just used _Auguimenti_ to wake you up. Two, I'm pretty sure the Longbottoms over there want to either lock you up or kill you, and you witches and wizards are prett helpless without your sticks to wave around. And three... I'm your best chance at getting out of here alive. Now, are those good enough reasons, or do I need to list six more?" She gestured with the gun as she said that, refferencing the six bullets she had loaded after shooting the wizard previously.

The woman licked her lips, glancing over at the Longbottoms, "You really shot Rodolphus?"

"Yes. I actually blew of at least the lower half of his arm. There was too much blood to tell."

She scrutinized Stella with stunning violet eyes, "If I go with you... what will you want in return?"

"Information. I'll do the asking later. Right now, we need to get back to Gringotts as fast as possible. What's your name?"

"Bellatrix..." Bellatrix hesitated for a moment, before continuing, "Bellatrix Black. My name is Bellatrix Black."

Stella pulled the woman to her feet, "Well, Bellatrix Black, I'm Stella Wolfe defacto Head of House for the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. Yes, the same Potters Voldemort attempted to wipe out. Let's go before the Longbottoms manage to get their wits about them and start throwing curses at you. Ghost, we're leaving!"

The Guardian gestured for Bella to lead, not wanting to take her eyes off the woman, "You go first. No offense, but I don't trust you."

"R-Right..." Bellatrix quickly walked out of the room, stumbling slightly as she was struck with a wave of dizziness.

Stella rolled her eyes and walked up to the woman, holstering her weapon before picking her up bridal style, "By the Light, you magi really are helpless without your magic. Don't make any sudden movements, and I won't accidentally drop you."

Bellatrix let out a sharp "Eep!" of surprise when Stella picked her up, clinging to her armour in confusion. The Guardian ignored her, leaving the building. Her ghost caught up to her just as they arrived at the Sparrow. She looked at the device, "Alright, how are the Longbottoms?"

"Shaken, but they should be fine. I left a small amount of magic binding them. Not too much they can't escape, but plenty enough to buy us enough time."

"Good. Ghost, this is Bellatrix Black. Bellatrix, this is my Ghost. He's the brains of the operation."

Bellatrix peered curiously at the Ghost, before deciding that he was just some sort of enchanted sculpture and turning back to the Sparrow with a look of pure facination, "What is this thing?"

Stella smirked slightly, "This is a piece of _muggle_ technology known as a Sparrow."

Bellatrix looked at her incredulously, "This is muggle? Impossible! Muggles are still using that disgusting combustion engine."

Stella rolled her eyes and climbed onto the Sparrow, gesturing to the back, "I don't have time to explain... Just get on the back and hold on. Like a motorcycle... or a horse."

Bellatrix swallowed nervously, but did as she was told, "Sirius had one of those Motorcycles... It was rather interesting."

The guardian sighed, deciding that it was just the concussion talking, "Just try not to fall off..."

 _ **Thanks for reading the chapter. Don't forget to visit my Pat page and become a Patron. Any little bit helps. /Writing_Soldier for those of you who want to know. Fanfiction won't let me even type the word Pa TRE on (Maybe this will work). Also, leave a review!**_


	5. Letter to the Readers

To my incredible readers:

I reret to inform you that I will be taking an indefinite, potentially permanent haitus from my writing. I will not be deleting any of my stories, as I feel that someone may take inspiration from what little I have to give, and then do what I could not. This message will be uploaded to all of my stories, so for those few following more than one of my stories, you do not have to check each one. For those of you who have been with me since the very beginning, when I uploaded Black Rose as my first ever story and crossover, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It has been a joy and a blast to write these stories, and each time I posted a new chapter I would look forward to seeing the suggestions and guesses in the review section. It pains me greatly to leave this wonderful community, and I fear that I may never return...

Sincerely,

Dr. Bartholomew J. Tucker


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